CHENNAI: There was a time when Tamil Nadu was a power house in basketball in the country. The tall, well built and elegant players from Rajapalayam captured the imagination of basketball aficionados with their agility and flair. The late K Suryanarayana Raja of Rajapalayan who played for India and led Tamil Nadu was very popular. The success of those teams was due to good exposure and basketball culture in the state.

The then administrators like ‘Jumpball’ Padhu used to invite foreign teams to play against Tamil Nadu for the players exposure. With the current lot of administrators in the TNBA emulating the administrators of the past it is not surprising to see the Tamil Nadu teams dominating the basketball events at the 6th Khelo India Youth Games by bagging the gold medals in both the boys’ and girls’ categories

The boys’ team defeated Rajasthan 86-85 in the final, while the girls’ team trounced Punjab 70-66 in the gold medal match. “It was an excellent performance by both the teams. This victory will boost their confidence and will come in handy for them in the year ahead,’’ complimented, Aezaz Ahmed, secretary of the Tamil Nadu Basketball Association.